


Pandorian Panic

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-11
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-12-14 03:36:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11774676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: The latest quests, told from Louisa's point of view with a few more ships added.





	Pandorian Panic

Seeing Pandoria for the first time took Louisa’s breath away. And, even after she remembered to breathe, her chest still felt tight. Almost like she was having a panic attack. But she didn’t feel frightened. And why should she? This place looked beautiful. Sure, it did look a little like Subnautica in parts (a game which she was too frightened to play but she did watch someone on Jortube play it a lot), and Lisa had told her that this place was awful, but…

“Careful,” said Goldmist, looking around. “This place may be beautiful, but it may also be like Faerieland.”

“That’s a good comparison,” said Louisa. “Come on, I want to see more of this place.”

“Well, take plenty of pictures,” said Goldie. “You may not be able to travel back here for a while.” He heard the sound of a camera shutter, and nickered in amusement at his rider’s enthusiasm.

“Wow,” said Louisa, awestruck, as she watched a manta ray fly overhead. She’d thought that they only existed in the water, but… maybe there were cracks to Pandoria in the ocean. That made sense, considering Garnok and the fact that underwater druids weren’t a thing. Or maybe there were underwater druids, and they rode hippocamps. The thought made her smile.

“Are you taking mental notes?” asked Goldie, sensing his rider’s thoughtfulness as he trotted through the beautiful landscape.

“Uh huh,” said Louisa. “I finally saw Anna, but she was a little too busy to talk.”

“Yes, and you were too excited,” said Goldie. “You’ve been excited for this for a few days now.”

“Well, can you blame me?” said Louisa. “I finally get to find out more about Pandoria, and maybe rescue Anne. And there was the portal travel, which was so much more amazing than the Secret Stone Circle portal." Goldie snorted and shook his head in amusement.

“I have to admit, I am having a difficult time not being drawn in by the beauty here,” said Goldie. “It is just so…”

“Do you think that water’s poisonous?” asked Louisa, pointing to the Pandorian pond.

“I think that’s lava,” said Goldie, looking at it. “Pretty sure.”

“But the lily pads… yeah, you’re probably right,” said Louisa. “Do you think you could fly to one of those islands?”

“No,” said Goldie, looking out at them.

“Why not?” asked Louisa. “I know you can sprout wings.”

“Because I am using up all of my magical energy simply to protect us,” said Goldie.

“Oh, so is that why my chest feels tight?” asked Louisa.

“Probably, yes,” said Goldie. “We just have to take some pictures, get Anne, and get out of here.”

“Good plan,” said Louisa, taking a photo of a strange tentacle tree. She fought the urge to send it to Alex with a winky face. In her current stressed state, Alex would probably yell at her. Also, there was no phone reception here.

Inside the cave, Louisa took a few more photos. This place was so beautiful, why hadn’t Lisa told her about all of the beauty of the place?

“Wait,” said Goldie as they began to trot down a tunnel. Louisa could just make out pink light at the end of it.

“What is it?” asked Louisa.

“Shadow seekers,” said Goldie. “We have to be very careful.”

They galloped past the shadowy beings, and Louisa’s heart began to race as she beheld crystals at the end of the path.

“Is that…?” She rode Goldie at a trot up to the crystals, and gaped up at the large one with a human figure inside.

“What is it?” asked Goldie, craning his neck to see up. Louisa fought the strong urge to say ‘Becky lemme smash’. This was not the time for memes, but she did take a photo of the crystal.

“Anne?” asked Louisa, her heart pounding. Was this it? Had she found her? But if she had, how would she get her out? Shattering the crystal would probably hurt Anne, and anyway, she had no way of smashing such a huge chunk of crystal. She only knew spells for reading runestones, igniting Kallstone, and now, clearing visions.

“Heh. Haven’t heard that name in a long time…” The figure in the crystal didn’t move, but Louisa could see her anyway. The pink veins creeping up her face from her neck, the pink encroaching on her blonde hair, the age in her face, the sadness in those beautiful pink eyes…  
“It is you,” said Louisa. “How can I save you?”

“You can’t,” said Anne, her voice sounding more defeated than anything Louisa had heard. She sounded so tired, like she’d given up a long time ago.

“But I have to,” said Louisa, her throat tight. “Alex is waiting for you.”

“What?” Now there was a little more life in that voice, and Louisa pressed on, hoping that she’d found the right thing to say.

“Yes! She’s waiting for us back at the Secret Stone Circle, she wanted to come but Fripp made her stay. How can I get you down from there?” asked Louisa.

“You can’t,” said Anne, her voice flat again as though the spark hadn’t even happened. “I’m trapped here. Garnok is too strong. You can’t win.”

“No!” said Louisa. “I’m not giving up! Not until I’ve reunited the Soul Riders.”

“But can’t you see?” said Anne. “Just look at me! I know you can see what I look like, I’m hideous, a monster.”

“You’re not!” said Louisa. “You’re still as beautiful as ever, Anne. And you know Alex doesn’t care about looks.”

“Shut up!” Anne screamed, and cried out as the crystal shuddered and more pink crept up her neck. “It’s too late for me. For you. For us. You should just… just leave.”

“Oh, and miss out on all the fun? Now, Anne, you really must stop being so selfish.” Louisa shuddered at the chillingly-familiar voice, remembering the last thing he’d said. And now here she was, right in front of him, easy pickings.

“Go!” Anne shouted, and groaned as the crystal trembled again. “Leave me, I’ll be fine, it’s you he wants, just go!”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” said Darko, twirling his cane. “Let me give you a little parting gift from your old friend Garnok.”

“W-what are you talking about?” asked Louisa, trembling as she sat in the saddle. Goldie tried to gallop away, but he was stuck in place. He neighed, glaring back at Darko and snorting.

“Oh, you mean you don’t know? Well, never mind. Your pathetic druid friends will be able to tell you… if you can survive this,” said Darko. With that said, he raised his hands and tentacles reared up into the air as the sky darkened. Louisa screamed, and Goldie was finally able to take off at a gallop through the cave with Louisa clinging to the reins. He was so busy dodging tentacles, however, that they ran straight past a shadow seeker. Louisa gasped as it grazed her and her vision momentarily darkened as her arm went cold. Goldie neighed and pushed on, even as the tentacles brought him to a squealing stop every so often. 

When they reached the portal, Darko reappeared again in a flash of fire.

“So you managed to evade our traps,” said Darko. “But that won’t help once I-“

Louisa didn’t hear the last thing Darko said, as Goldie jumped through the portal and brought them to the space between the worlds. Louisa gasped and panted, glad to be free.

“We can’t stop,” said Goldie, looking behind them. “He’s coming.”

“Run,” said Louisa, and gave Goldie free rein to bolt down the path to the safety of the Stone Circle. As soon as they jumped through, Alex was there.

“Did you get her?” asked Alex, eyes wide and pleading. She frowned when she saw a distinct lack of Anne, but then she saw the terror on her friend’s face. “What happened?”

“He-he’s coming,” said Louisa, sliding off of Goldmist’s back and shakily walking over to the portal stone. She grabbed it with shaking hands, but, just as she did, tentacles burst through the portal and Darko stepped down from them.

“Well, well,” said Darko. “You made it back. Congratulations. But if I can’t trap you in Pandoria, I’ll just have to take other measures.” He reached for her, and Louisa trembled and stepped back, but then Fripp scampered up and perched on the stone’s platform.

“Stop!” Fripp cried, holding up his paws. “You cannot harm her, she is more important than you know!”

“Oh, I know plenty, squirrel,” said Darko, a growl in his voice. “I know exactly who she is.”

“Then you know why we need her,” said Fripp.

“And why I must kill her,” said Darko. He slammed his cane down, and suddenly, Lisa cried out as a red glow surrounded her. Alex growled at the glow, and Linda seemed resigned. She’d seen this, hadn’t she? But, when Louisa felt the same magic, she felt only terror. She couldn’t move.

“No, don’t take her!” Louisa cried out, only seeing Lisa. “I can’t lose her again!”

“You leave me no choice,” said Fripp, and grabbed the keystone. Immediately, the ground trembled, and Louisa would have fallen if she could move at all. But she could only watch as Fripp threw his body over the keystone, and the portal’s runes glowed menacingly.

“No!” Darko screamed as he was pulled back. He struggled against the current, but it was too powerful. “No, I was so close!”

“So were we,” said Fripp, glaring up at him even as his tiny body trembled from the magic.

And then, there was a bright light and Louisa fell to her knees and covered her ears as the magic holding her vanished. She squeezed her eyes shut tight, but she caught a glimmer of gold.

When the light had faded, Louisa looked up, blinking and uncovering her still-ringing ears.

“Is everyone okay?” asked Alex, coughing at the dust.

“Yeah,” said Louisa. The other three echoed the affirmative. But then, they looked at the unmoving form of Fripp.

“Fripp?” asked Lisa, stepping forward. Fripp coughed, blood splattering the stones.

“Ever… gray…” Fripp rasped. “Find… Ever… gray…”

“Who’s he?” asked Linda.

“He can… help…” said Fripp, his voice still hoarse. “Create… portal…”

“We’ll find him,” said Alex, her words becoming choked off as she looked at the ruined portal. “We have to.”

“We will,” said Louisa, rubbing Alex’s back.

“Oh, Fripp, what have you done to yourself now?” asked Elizabeth, and the four girls looked at her in shock. They hadn’t heard her arrive.

“He threw himself over the keystone,” said Linda. “His body absorbed most of the impact.”

“No human could have survived that,” said Elizabeth. “Fortunately, he is not human.” She picked up Fripp’s limp body.

“One last thing before you go,” said Linda. “Who’s Evergray?”

“Um… you’ll have to ask Avalon,” said Elizabeth.

“Let’s go,” said Alex, climbing back into the saddle. The others followed suit, Louisa following them through the portal. It was a lot less exciting, but at the moment she was grateful for that.

Louisa thought that she was calm at Avalon’s cottage.

“Evergray? Seriously? No, he’s mad,” said Avalon.

“So is the Doctor, and yet,” said Louisa.

“Oh, not you too, I get enough Doctor Who references from Emilie,” said Avalon. “But do you really have to get him?”

“Fripp said he’s the only way,” said Linda.

“Don’t make me go on an epic quest to find him, because I’ll do it,” said Alex. “Anything to get her back. Anything.”

“Alright, fine,” said Avalon with a sigh. “I’ll revoke his exile and let him know. I’ll let you know when he gets here.”

“Good,” said Alex. “I’ll wait here until he arrives.”

“Oh, Aideen save me,” Avalon muttered.

“Where’s Lisa?” asked Louisa, suddenly noticing her absence. There were a lot of people around, so she’d assumed that Lisa had simply gotten lost in the crowd. But now, the crowd had thinned and there was a distinct lack of red hair and a blue and white horse. “Where is she?” Her panic spiked, and she took off at a gallop, calling for her girlfriend.

Outside Elizabeth’s cottage, Louisa dismounted and went to open the door. But it swung open before she could touch the door handle.

“Lisa!” said Louisa, and hugged her tightly, tears streaming down her face.

“Woah, what’s wrong?” asked Lisa.

“I thought I’d lost you again,” said Louisa. “First Darko attacked you, and then, and then…”

“It’s okay, I just wanted to see how Fripp was doing,” said Lisa. Louisa sniffled but didn’t let go of her girlfriend. Lisa rubbed her back soothingly.

“I’m just… so scared,” said Louisa. “And worried because…”

“Did you see Anne?” asked Lisa.

“Yeah,” said Louisa, nodding and pulling away to look at her girlfriend. “She’s encased in pink crystal, and she looks awful.”

“I know,” said Lisa. “I was too.” Louisa made a noise of distress and hugged her girlfriend that little bit tighter.

“Now I’m even more glad that the tree saved you,” said Louisa. “Especially with how sensitive you are.”

“That place feeds on negativity,” said Lisa. “And if there are any positive thoughts, they’re beaten down.”

“Anne sounded like she’d given up,” said Louisa. “Did you feel like that?”

“I was starting to,” said Lisa. “It’s a wound that’s never going to heal.”

“I feel bad about leaving her there,” said Louisa.

“You had no choice,” said Lisa. “You couldn’t fight Darko. You were unprepared.”

“I was so close,” said Louisa. “I could see her, I talked to her.”

“Shh. It’ll all be okay,” said Lisa, giving her girlfriend a kiss on the forehead.

“I hope so,” said Louisa. “Avalon said that he’s going to get Evergray, and he’ll help us.”

“Good,” said Lisa. “I’m just so glad that you’re okay. I watched you disappear into that portal, and you were gone for such a long time…”

“I need to stop risking my life,” said Louisa. “And just… sit down and read for a while. Especially after today.”

“We all need to rest after today,” said Lisa, stroking her girlfriend’s purple hair. “Come on, let’s go get some fresh air.”

“Good idea. Also, your metaphors suck,” said Louisa. Lisa chuckled and walked outside with her girlfriend, both of them enjoying the fading rays of the sun’s light.


End file.
